I was in the Bujinkan for 6 years, got up to nidan and thought that the Booj had all I needed... until I met Sean Askew and was so impressed by him & didn't understand why folks seem to hate him behind his back... until I found out how much he cross-trained OUTSIDE the Booj.

Rath

6/13/2010 9:24pm,

I used to think that a black belt meant people spent a lot of time and training in an art and were legitimately tough. It didn't even occur to me that there were schools out there that were less than legitimate. That is until I found this site.

I used to think you had to be in good shape to learn MA.

I'm not sure why but I used to think that only eastern martial arts were actually martial arts. Even now I still find it awkward to refer to boxing and wrestling as types of martial arts.

OZZ

6/13/2010 10:37pm,

I used to believe that Black Belts had to register thier hands as weapons..when I was about 13.

excludedmiddle

6/14/2010 3:39am,

I used to believe that Black Belts had to register thier hands as weapons..when I was about 13.

Ok, seriously, where the hell did this one come from? I think everybody believed this at one point or another and it was always total bullshit. But where the hell did it come from?

Necroyunus

6/14/2010 3:52am,

Ok, seriously, where the hell did this one come from? I think everybody believed this at one point or another and it was always total bullshit. But where the hell did it come from?

If I m not mistaken this was first mentioned in a book about karate which an american wrote that went to japan just to study martial arts. He is a japanese citizen now though.

I read that book. I ll try to find more info

Necroyunus

6/14/2010 3:55am,

ok found it
Amazon.com: Moving Zen: One Mans Journey to the Heart of Karate (Bushido--The (http://www.amazon.com/Moving-Zen-Journey-Bushido-Warrior/dp/4770027559)

Larus marinus

6/14/2010 7:14am,

Remember how that John Decyk guy told everyone that he'd been crippled in an accident, then he met Royce Gracie, who saw something in him, took him in and taught him to walk again (against all odds and accepted medical wisdom) through mouths of hard work and guts(tm) - then helped to rebuild him as a certified badass?

Well, at one point in time, if I'd heard that story coming from someone who wasn't an obvious lying dirtbag and fantasist (say, someone with an actual real fight record who didn't look like a fatass kid), then I might have been all like "well, sounds like something that Royce Gracie would do, being the wonderful, heroic, benevolent, Jesus-like, friend-to-the-disadvantaged-kids fellow that he is - I guess that it could've happened".

RumbleFish

6/22/2010 6:21am,

That a CMA form could be useful in a fight.

That, in a fight, guys come at you one at a time.

Kovacs

6/22/2010 6:28am,

That a CMA form could be useful in a fight.

That, in a fight, guys come at you one at a time.

Even then you'd get served lol. I used to think the same.

Larus marinus

6/22/2010 8:10am,

As a corollary to something I mentioned earlier.

...that someone like Ueshiba (not necessarily him specifically, he's just a handy example), by virtue of being an old Asian martial artist with a white beard would literally be able to kill someone like Mike Tyson with one punch - and probably completely shatter the guy's bones and innards.

The rationale of course being that a man who'd spent that many decades single-mindedly dedicating himself to true budo, the peaceful martial way, cultivation of the spirit and all that, must therefore have had a power level that was off the freaking chart...

Soldiermedic

6/22/2010 8:18am,

I used to believe that Fred Villari really opened up his schools to help kids learn self defense, not to make money.

Seriously, how much do youi think this guy is worth!?!

Sri Hanuman

6/22/2010 8:22am,

I used to believe that Fred Villari really opened up his schools to help kids learn self defense, not to make money.

Seriously, how much do youi think this guy is worth!?!

I saw his book at Half Price Books for about $1. The cover had him picking 2 guys up by the balls, and lifting them some 6ft into the air.

Irony of ironies, the title was "Martial Arts and Real Life."

Larus marinus

6/22/2010 12:38pm,

I saw his book at Half Price Books for about $1. The cover had him picking 2 guys up by the balls, and lifting them some 6ft into the air.

Irony of ironies, the title was "Martial Arts and Real Life."

What's wrong with that? It's not considered sporting to grab a guy by the nuts, is it?

Sri Hanuman

6/22/2010 12:40pm,

What's wrong with that? It's not considered sporting to grab a guy by the nuts, is it?

Oh, it's very sporting.
But for that 6ft crotch lift, they must have tipped him something special.

Larus marinus

6/22/2010 1:08pm,

Oh, it's very sporting.
But for that 6ft crotch lift, they must have tipped him something special.

That would be more of a 'game'.

Sri Hanuman

6/22/2010 1:10pm,

That would be more of a 'game'.

Dude, do not get Neil Strauss involved in this.
You don't want to know what it may lead to.